![]() These were found to be partially related to the Chelonoidis niger species from Floreana Island that was also considered extinct. ![]() The conservationists also retrieved 11 male tortoises and 18 other female tortoises from Wolf Volcano. From the giant tortoises that give the islands their name, to the pink flamingos, blue-footed boobies and Darwin finches that call the archipelago home, La. Melanie Stetson Freeman / The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images file Lonesome George, a Pinta giant tortoise, and the last of his kind at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Santa Cruz, Galapagos on Feb. The new discovery suggests that his subspecies may not be extinct, and that hybrid tortoises with significant Pinta Island lineage could be living elsewhere in the Galápagos, offering conservation scientists hope amid what can often be the bleak work of tracking disappearing species. Despite numerous breeding attempts, the tortoise had been unable to reproduce. Tortoise Chelonoidis Nigra Abingdonii or the Pinta Island tortoise also referred to as the Abingdon Island tortoise the Pinta giant tortoise or the ‘giant’ tortoise of the Abingdon Island, originally belonged to the subspecies of the Galapagos tortoise, a native to Ecuador’s Pinta Island. Lonesome George died of natural causes in June 2012. “We are absolutely thrilled that she was found,” Johannah Barry, president of the Galapagos Conservancy, said. ![]() ![]() The female specimen was found during a recent 10-day expedition to Wolf Volcano, a 5,600 foot tall peak on Isabela Island. Researchers at the Galapagos Conservancy Inc., a nonprofit organization headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, announced that the female tortoise is a direct descendant of the same species from Pinta Island as Lonesome George. But now, conservationists working on Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands have discovered a young female tortoise that is partially related to Lonesome George. ![]()
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